What would a decolonised thesis look like?

Goal: As we become increasingly aware of the prevailing coloniality of much academic knowledge production and as many researchers are attempting to decolonise our methodologies and theoretical frameworks, one question usually still remains unaddressed: How do we write up (or present otherwise) our research in a decolonised manner?

Pursuing and obtaining a Masters Degree or, even more so, a PhD is an initiation rite into a community whose centre lies in the global North and whose practices are governed by “Western” ways of producing and presenting knowledge. Most often, also (attempted) decolonial research projects end up as conventional theses, following template-like rigid structures that are tailored to present one specific form of knowledge; that kind of academic knowledge that currently dominates academia.

This project asks: What would a decolonised thesis look like? The question does not imply that a decolonised thesis SHOULD per definition look entirely different. Rather, it invites reflections on format, templates and structures, on the use of theory, “findings” and “contributions”. How could the outcomes of research be written up or presented in line with the epistemological assumptions that govern the research, rather than submitting to so-called international rules that are dictated by “Western” academic conventions?

We invite everyone to contribute with ideas, reflections, questions and suggestions – either here or on researchgate: https://www.researchgate.net/project/What-would-a-decolonised-thesis-look-like